n. Computer Science The state in which a computer operates when some of its memory or peripherals are not available.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. The act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; a lowering from one's standing or rank in office or society; diminution; as, the degradation of a peer, a knight, a general, or a bishop.

n. The state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; moral, physical, or intellectual degeneracy; disgrace; abasement; debasement.

There was a real battle fought by working people in England and the U.S. to defend themselves against what they called the degradation and oppression and violence of the industrial capitalist system, which was not only dehumanizing them but was even radically reducing their intellectual level.

Now they will certainly warm more and are doing so fast: our human signal here will clearly be added on top of underlying long-term degradation, making something that has probably been benign in recent interglacials potentially catastrophic.